How to Change Into a Nato Strap

by SMC TeamAugust 09, 2017

Recently, I had a customer asking a question about how to loop his new leather Nato strap through his watch. He had a tight gap on his watch and his strap didn't fit. That's when I realized not everyone has the proper tools and equipment when it comes to installing thick straps. Our leather Nato straps are duo sided which results in the thickness of the product. Believe it or not, even when installing something as simple as a Nato strap, you can still encounter issues.

This tutorial is intended to help guide you through some of the basics for installing Nato straps. We will be using our Leather Nato strap as an example since it is thicker than a nylon Nato strap.

1. Take the strap or bracelet off the watch. For this example a leather strap is attached.

2. Slide the spring bar fork in between the lug and the strap to push the spring bar away from the watch case.

3. Remove the spring bar from the original strap or bracelet.

4. Install the spring bar back onto the watch.

5. Slide the Nato strap into the watch as shown below.

The extra long design of our leather Nato strap enables the excess strap to be tucked in tightly. It is normal to experience difficulty in tucking the excess strap when the strap is new.

Voila!

6. If you encounter difficulties in trying to slide our leather Nato strap through the lugs (like the Damasko below), check the space between the spring bar and the watch case; if it is less than 2mm, you may need bent spring bars.

7. You could use a pair of spring bar bending pliers to bend the spring bars or purchase a pair here. The bent spring bar will add an extra 1mm clearance as shown below. We recommend using new spring bars for this exercise since it is irreversible.

8. Install the bent spring bars on both sides of the watch.

9. Repeat step 5 to install the strap.

That’s it! Enjoy your new strap and go do military things with it! If you have any questions, please email us or comment below.